1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, systems, and products for broadcasting user controls for streaming digital content under remote direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Streaming digital content delivered to users via networks is a powerful way of delivery substantive content of entertainment, education, and business communications to users. In the current state of the art, however, the users themselves are required to control presentations of streaming digital content. Many prior art implementations of streaming video and audio, including for example, RealPlayer™ from RealNetworks, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., Apple's QuickTime™ , and Microsoft's Windows Media Player, actually require user to have some kind of video viewer application open in order to control video streaming. User controls are simple, including the analogues for the controls found on VHS videotape recorders, Play, Pause, Stop, and the like. To the extent that user controls are possible in prior art, there are no provisions for system-level assignments, effects, or control over the scope or duration of user controls. To the extent that a user is enable to Play, Pause, or Stop, such controls endure for the entirety of a presentation with no chance of centralized limitations. Generally in prior art, it is not possible to control whether a user even is authorized to affect a presentation of streaming digital content, much less the extent to which a user is enabled to have such control.
During playback of a clip in such prior art devices, no director control is provided on the server side of the stream of digital content. Most prior art systems for formulating presentation of streaming digital content are oriented to formulating playback of clips recorded prior to their presentation over a network. To the extent that control systems exist for formulation and control of digitized output streams of live video and audio, such controls are expensive and specialized, typically requiring direct connection to particular servers, workstations, or other computers. There remains in the art therefore, a need for convenient, powerful, flexible, means of formulating and controlling streaming digital content.